


The Girl in the Plum Barrel

by FeatherQuilt88



Series: Dragon's Brood [4]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Children, Cute, Cute Kids, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fire Lord Zuko, Fluff, Food, Games, Gen, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, Post-Canon, Soft Zuko, Would A Fic With Iroh Be Complete Without A Tea Party The Answer Is No
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2020-03-09 02:42:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18907888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeatherQuilt88/pseuds/FeatherQuilt88
Summary: On their way home to the Fire Nation, Fire Lord Zuko and his beloved uncle find a little stowaway onboard their ship.





	The Girl in the Plum Barrel

**Author's Note:**

> Chiko is my main ATLA fancharacter, and of course I made up her mother, Aika, and father, Yori, as well.
> 
> "Fire Lord Kanji" is a very obscure little "inside joke" on my part. During the time I was writing this chapter, I discovered that Iroh's (first/main) voice-actor, Mako, played a small role in "Murder Under Glass," my #1 favorite episode of the 1970's murder mystery series _Columbo_. At first I thought I had never seen (or, well, heard) Mako in anything but ATLA--suddenly realizing that I'd actually watched him gosh knows how many times, in that old _Columbo_ episode, just tickled me, somehow. So, in my excitement, I threw in a little nod to that in this fanfic chapter--the character Mako played in "Murder Under Glass" was a Japanese food critic named "Kanji Ousu." Perhaps Fire Lord Kanji is a distant ancestor of Iroh's!... ;)

Sunrise in Sekitan. The last chills of winter lent an uncharacteristic greyness to the former Fire Nation port, soon to be transferred over to Earth Kingdom rule. Fire Lord Zuko was going to do everything he could to reassure its citizens in his coming speech. And the time was very near--Fire Nation orations were often held early in the morning, with the sun still low and blazing in the sky, closer to the speaker.

Zuko adjusted his golden crown at the back of his topknot, wondering if it would catch the light. He had to grin as he noticed his uncle doing the same--no crown in his gray locks, of course, but a proud little Fire Nation topknot again, for the first time during their current journey through the Earth Kingdom. Iroh had never actually worn the traditional coif in tandem with his long beard from Ba-Sing-Se before--nor had he left his hair unbraided before, when it was at this particularly flowing length.

"You look like Avatar Roku," Zuko observed, chuckling. "A very short, chubby Avatar Roku."

"I will take that as a compliment," Iroh beamed, from his cheeks to his tubby little toes. He fluffed his beard as he and his nephew reclined at this outdoor inn table. "I will probably trim my whiskers back for the summer, but for now, they're nice and warm." Then he reached over and tickled Zuko's bare neck playfully. "Your poor little chin must be frozen!"

Zuko grinned, giving as good as he got. "Your poor forehead must be too!" he skittered his own fingers teasingly over the bald half of Iroh's scalp.

"Oh, psssshhhh!" This earned the young monarch a semi-gentle elbow in the ribs.

After their laughter had died down, however, Iroh could tell that Zuko was still slightly nervous about this morning's coming event. He compassionately reached for the boy again.

"You'll do fine," the old man rumbled soothingly, rubbing his nephew's hand with his thumb. Iroh had always been a cuddlesome sort--and after slowly crawling out of his shell after the events of Sozin's Comet, Zuko had become more palpably affectionate towards his father figure again too. Forehead-kisses and little hand-squeezes like this were common between them now, all the more so when Zuko obviously needed support.

"I know," the young monarch managed a crooked smile, matching his usual soft-but-gritty voice. "Blow a little flame in the air for luck for me, okay?" He drew his cloak closely about him, still shaking off the chill. "To warm me up," he added.

It killed Iroh that he couldn't attend most of Zuko's speeches personally, but for the first few years of the young Fire Lord's reign, they had agreed to play it safe. Having Iroh standing there behind him on stage, bedecked in fancy courtly garb, would have diminished Zuko in certain watchers' eyes. And even having him watching in the audience--where he could give hand-signals--would have been suspect. Iroh had once been the crown prince of the Fire Nation himself, after all, and it was best to wait until mean-spirited rumors of him "using Zuko as a puppet ruler" died down. (Obviously untrue though those rumors were, especially to those who knew the humble, peace-and-quiet-loving old man personally.)

But Iroh could always give his nephew plenty of encouragement in private, and whatever sagely wisdom he could muster, of course. And he invariably hung onto every word as Zuko, or any other random courtier, repeated the high points of every speech to him later.

"I will take care of all our ship arrangements down at the docks, while you handle the diplomacy," Iroh smiled kindly, as he and Zuko got up from their table at the inn's courtyard. "It will be one less thing for you to worry about."

The crowd had already begun gathering in the town square as Zuko and Iroh stepped outside, one heading towards the aforesaid city center (flanked by guards and attendants), the other towards the seaport's watery edge.

***

 _Clop, clop._ A few streets away, an ostrich-horse cart carried a load of produce to Sekitan's market. _Bump, thump._ The half-avian beast of burden cawed as the cart jangled slightly, running over a small rock in the road. A lone loaf of bread flew off the back of its cargo.

The morsel lay in the dust for a few seconds. Then, suddenly, two tiny hands snatched it up.

_Six-and-a-half years ago, Sekitan had been attacked by Earth soldiers and their Water Tribe allies, seeking to reclaim the territory for the Earth Kingdom. Daddy was a Fire soldier. Mommy had said Daddy died in the attack, defending their home. Chiko had never gotten to meet Daddy. Chiko had been born four months later, when life in the seaport had slowly been starting to get back to normal._

The little girl studied the bread in her hands, her amber eyes shining. She scraped the dirt off of its bottom half, and started to take a bite. Then she noticed two other pairs of eyes watching her from an alleyway.

_She'd heard the grownups muttering about the transference over to Earth Kingdom rule. How the new Fire Lord, Zuko, was giving the colonies back to the Earth King. Some of the colonists were worried. Some still said the Earth people were savages. Others, who had lived with the Earth people as their neighbors for so long, said it wouldn't be so bad. Sekitan had become a mixed city, after all--it was one of the Fire Nation's oldest colonies, started nearly a century ago._

The two boys looked mean. The two boys were both bigger than her. "Get 'er!" the larger one hissed to the smaller. Chiko ran.

***

Down at the docks, Iroh chatted amicably with the foreman, as he made a final list of supplies for their journey. A week at sea, roughly, taking an even pace over the waves, back home to the capital city of the Fire Nation. They would need fresh linens, of course, and plenty of fine food... and could you possibly include some boxes of that delicious local chai they had served back at the inn? Why thank you!

The sun glinted overhead. Realizing that the moment was at hand, Iroh smiled and raised his palm, keeping his word. What did it matter that he and his nephew were far too many blocks away for either to see the other, right now? A promise was a promise. The old Firebender blew a tiny puff of flame, like a kiss, in the direction of the town square.

***

_Politics were too complicated a subject for a child like Chiko to fully understand. She wasn't overly concerned about Earth Kingdom rule. She was more concerned about the ache in her tummy, and the ache in her heart._

The child's dark brown topknot bounced up and down like a pennant, as she hurried down the lane. She couldn't let those other street urchins catch her! They would rough her up, they would hurt her... they were just like the bullies she had encountered before. Protecting her prize of food from them was just one more incentive to escape their grasp.

_Mommy had been a seamstress here in Sekitan. She had raised Chiko alone, for six whole years. They had been very close. But then Mommy had gotten sick, and Chiko had had to go with her to Sekitan's hospital. And then the nurses had told Chiko Mommy had passed away... and then they had taken her to the orphanage._

The ragged hem of Chiko's orphanage smock nearly caught on the cobblestones as she turned another corner.

***

Zuko took a deep breath and began his speech.

The dismantling of the colonies was one of the biggest priorities of the young Fire Lord's new reign. However, he and the Earth King had agreed that the generations of mixed families would be allowed to stay, as would other Fire Nationals who strongly felt they had ties there, provided they agreed to become Earth citizens now, and accepted the Earth Kingdom's laws. Likewise, Earth (and Water) immigrants would now be welcomed in the Fire Nation, provided they accepted _its_ laws and requirements of citizenship.

The Fire colonists who no longer wanted to stay would also be welcomed back to the Fire Nation, most heartily. Many incentives were being offered, in fact, to help them resettle. The programs Zuko and his new court had put into motion would find dwelling places for the colonists back in the archipelago, down to the next generation. It was time for the Fire Nationals to come home. Home to a more peaceful, more forgiving country than they had left. And still a proud one--proud not of its misdeeds, but of its culture, and of its future.

"We do not need to be ashamed of who we are. Only of the pain that our country's policies and teachings have caused, in the last hundred years. Apologizing for the war--apologizing for our acts of conquest--does not mean apologizing for our existence, for our lives and stories, for the element of flame, forever burning bright in our hearts."

It was an important point, and Zuko and Iroh had both agreed that the young lord should make it. Still, some reassurances would need to be made, for the Fire Nationals left behind--for the ones who would now be becoming Earth Kingdom citizens themselves.

The embassies were part of the safeguard for that. Just as Earth Kingdom embassies would be opened in the Fire Nation, Fire embassies would be kept in place in the previous colonies, like Sekitan. The ambassadors would do their best to assuage any grievances, and to make sure that those with Fire blood were not deliberately mistreated by their now-ruling Earth neighbors--or vice-versa. Old grudges ran deep, of course, and would not disappear overnight--but still, the young Fire Lord urged his listeners, the Fire and the Earth alike, to practice patience and compromisation, as they walked into this new era of peace together.

He spoke of his own adventures with the Avatar as the speech went on, adding an element of both humanity and entertainment to the mix. Zuko's huskily-voiced words were so sincere, so backed by his own humbling life experiences, that they managed to hold the majority of the audience silent for several minutes. Still, even the young lord himself had to falter and whip his head around awkwardly, when a minor commotion scattered the edge of the crowd.

Three street children had dodged between the legs of the onlookers, the first of them holding a ragged loaf of bread. After some small "oof"s and shouts, the children disappeared down the next alleyway... the crowd regained its form... and Zuko managed to return to his speech's conclusion, after only a small "um."

***

_They had taken her to the orphanage three weeks ago. Chiko didn't like the orphanage. The walls were white and sterile. She was forced to keep her toys with the other orphans', in a communal box. Some of the other children bullied her. And the adults wouldn't listen to Chiko, or give her compassion and cuddles the way Mommy did._

Chiko stumbled and rolled down the cobblestone hill at one point, the salt in the air letting her know she was near the seaport's edge. The boys were out of sight, for the first time, but she wouldn't be content that she had lost them, yet. Maybe they had still gotten back on her track, after she had dodged into that huge pile of grownups (had that been the Fire Lord on that wooden podium, his golden hairpiece glinting in the corner of her eye?!).

_She still cried for Mommy. And she had wanted to run away. So she had. It had been easy enough to crawl out of the orphanage's window during playtime, when the bored workers only half-payed attention._

Chiko headed for the docks, the water and the loading piers and the great, gallant Fire Nation vessels all in her sights now. It would have made her heart swell, in an earlier time. She had never been outside Sekitan before, but sometimes Mommy had taken her down to look at the ships, and dream about what lay over the ocean, in the land of her forebears.

_Chiko didn't often think these things through. An afternoon, a night, and a morning on the streets had left her as sad as ever, and also frightened, cold, and hungry. Very hungry. Her little tummy grumbled so fiercely, even the plain and dusty bread loaf looked wondrous._

She still had that bread loaf with her right now. It had gotten a little squished in her tiny palms, as she had run, but it was more or less intact. Chiko could eat it the moment she stopped dashing about. --A hiding place, that was what she needed. A place those boys wouldn't see her, if they _did_ manage to make it all the way down here to the docks....

Chiko's small head whipped this way and that. Then, for the first time that morning, she smiled. _Barrels!_ Not watertight, liquid-bearing barrels, but half-open produce ones--ones she could breathe in.

The little girl smiled even more as she hopped into the most promising, and noticed it was half-filled with sweet, juicy plums. _Another treat to have with her bread!_ She pulled the lid back over herself and began to munch.

She was far too startled to react when suddenly, she felt her barrel being heaved up, and carried over a gangplank onto a ship!

***

Though not _all_ of the Fire Nation citizens had cheered at Zuko's speech, a fair number of them actually had. And now several of them had even lined the docks to grin and wave, sending their young monarch (or former monarch, in some of their cases) on his way.

Zuko couldn't help but grin himself as Iroh trotted up (beaming from cheek to fluffy cheek), leaving his books with the foreman. The young lord and his uncle were both decked in fine red silks rather than army breastplates this time, and now they were being cheered along their gangplank, instead of scorned and left to board unattended. It was almost the opposite picture of when they had been sent into exile (Zuko by his father's command, Iroh voluntarily by the command of love), four years ago.

 _Almost_ the opposite picture. _Some_ things were still the same, like the taste of the sea salt, and the configuration of the vessel (though their original ship had been destroyed in an explosion, this newly-selected one was quite like it--charmingly small and antique, but maneuverable and sturdy). And, of course, the fact that they were _together._ Zuko had sometimes taken his uncle's devotion and companionship for granted, during their time at sea those years before, but he didn't anymore.

The anchors were weighed. The ship eased forward, buoyed into the deepening waters. Zuko stood on the prow, closed his eyes, and savored the feeling of the ocean air, letting it whip his long black hair behind him.

Iroh was quite appreciative of life's little delights like this as well--it was he, after all, who had worked so hard in instilling them in his nephew. But after calmly letting the sea winds tousle his own mane for a few seconds, he began to think of a different pleasure. --Breakfast had been _ages_ ago, back there at the inn, when he and Zuko had risen so early! A mere three eggs and a large bowl of rice-ball broth had _hardly_ been enough sustenance for a venerable dragon like himself. And lunch would likely be slow in coming, now, what with all the preoccupation of setting sail.

"I'm hungry," Iroh announced cheerfully. "I think I'll go and inspect our new food stores in the larder."

"The cook will probably have lunch ready in an hour, Uncle!" Zuko laughed. "Don't spoil it for yourself, you old glutton."

"We'll compromise," the older man shrugged, still cheerily. "I will have something healthy. Maybe a nice piece of fruit, to hold me over!"

The young Fire Lord could only shake his head and chuckle as his rotund little mentor shuffled off belowdecks.

***

"Hmm-hmm-HMMM, hmmm-hmm-HMMM-hmm!" Iroh hummed his favorite "Four Seasons" melody happily, twirling about in the ship's pantry. All of his preparations had been carried out to a tee--there were boxes upon boxes of jellies, candies, dried onions, beans and peas, noodles for boiling, spices for baking, sacks of rice, delicious teas, and several cured meats hanging in the corner (just in case they got tired of all the fish they could catch overboard). The candy in particular was quite tempting at the moment, but, remembering his word to his nephew--and privately agreeing that mealtimes _were_ more enjoyable on a somewhat empty stomach--Iroh decided to go for something light. He pranced over to the fruit crates.

It was hard to tell which of the two yelps was the most startled, when the old Firebender stuck his hand into the plum barrel--the tiny squeaky one, or the old rumbly one. Zuko's uncle fell flat onto his rump on the floor, staring up at the fuzzy head slowly peeking out of the container.

Iroh's old amber eyes softened as he saw the shiny young ones. "Ah... aaahh, why, it's only a little girl!" He stood back up, paternal instinct rapidly taking over.

The child smiled for the first time, as two big but incredibly gentle hands slipped under her arms and lifted her out of her hiding place. "Who are you, little one?"

"Ch-Chiko," the little one sniffed, as her torn shoes touched the larder floor. She was _tiny,_ as short for her age and gender as Iroh was for his--though truly around six, she scarcely seemed older than a toddler.

"Chiko, daughter of... Yori," the child clarified, bowing, apparently doing her best to guess the protocol in front of this roly-poly silk-clad noble. _She had trouble remembering Daddy's name. Mommy had only told it to her once or twice._ "Yori and Aika," she added. _Mommy's name was easier to remember. Chiko had asked Mommy about her real name more often._

Iroh knelt down to Chiko's level with the very sweetest of smiles, letting her know she didn't need to keep bowing. His gruff but soothing old voice held a hint of curious amusement as he asked, "And how in the world did you get into our barrel of plums, Chiko, daughter of Yori and Aika?"

The whole story came out then--Mommy, the hospital, the orphanage, the boys on the street. Iroh was busily dabbing at the child's tears with a kerchief by the time the innocently-voiced explanations were over. Several other crewmen had gathered around by that time, too. They had all walked out to sit on the main deck, and Iroh had his arm protectively around the little girl, while munching on a plum he had finally procured in the other hand.

Zuko himself strode up to the growing scene, his golden crown still in his black topknot. "Well! Looks like we have a little stowaway."

Chiko at first gasped and bowed to the young man, now indeed recognizing him as the Fire Lord. But his manner quickly put her at ease, almost like his uncle's had. Zuko's voice had not been critical, but instead had held a soft sort of half-chuckle, matching his usual quiet half-smile. Though his humor was much more reserved than Iroh's, the kindness behind it was still there.

"'M sorry I got caught on your boat, Lord Zuko," Chiko peeped, managing to stare up at him timidly, though still a bit in awe. "It was an accident."

Zuko's smile grew a little fuller as he knelt down to the girl's level, just as most of the gathered crewmen had. "Aww, it's okay, little one. There was no harm done." His golden eyes, the scarred and the unscarred, both twinkled. "And we're only twenty minutes out of port," he added, hoping to reassure her. "It won't hurt our schedule that much to turn back around right now--we'll get you home."

"No!!" the child's cry shocked almost everyone but Iroh. Shur and Yumi, who had been among the crewmen nearby, both gasped--partially in surprise at this breach of protocol, partially in sympathy for the little girl, who clearly was distressed about _something._

Chiko's lip trembled, realizing she probably should not have shouted at her ruler. "Please, I--" she whimpered, almost in apology; "I don't _wanna_ go back there!"

Zuko turned to his uncle, confused.

"Chiko is an orphan," Iroh explained, calmly. "She was scared and starving on the streets. Before that, she was at a pristinely stern orphanage, where the children were mean to her and the adults didn't care for her." The old Firebender's simple frankness, and the way he sat there cross-legged in companionable innocence with Chiko, almost made him seem childlike himself. "She doesn't want to go back," he concluded, biting into his plum matter-of-factly; "And I don't blame her!"

Two pairs of amber eyes (and one bulging cheek) stared guilelessly up at the Fire Lord, surrounded by several other pairs of staring crewmen eyes.

"...Adopting war orphans has been a growing trend for several years back home, my lord," Shur put in, timidly. "It's one of the few things that has been seen as patriotic under both your _and_ your father's reigns."

"And even if she has to wait for a few months, the orphanages in Capital City are probably _much_ better-run than whatever it was she ran away from out here," Yumi added, with an optimistic nod.

Zuko's grin managed to find both sides of his face now. "It appears you all have made my decision for me!" he half-chuckled and shook his head. "Very well, Chiko," his golden eyes reassured her, just as his uncle's amber ones had earlier. "I guess you're our fellow passenger now."

The little girl's own grin split her features, for the first time in over a month.

***

Iroh asked Yumi to cut some old, extra robes down to Chiko's size, so she'd have something fresh to change into after her bath that evening. Zuko asked Shur to send a messenger-hawk back to Sekitan, to request Chiko's documentation--since they now knew both her name and her parents' names, the papers from the orphanage hopefully wouldn't be too hard to procure, and transfer over to Fire Nation record-houses in Capital City.

With that taken care of, all that was left to do now was enjoy a card game, until lunch was finally ready. It was almost the same picture, once more, as that fateful day over a year ago, when Iroh had been calmly amusing himself on deck, while Zuko had seen the beam of light from the now-famous "Boy in the Iceberg." Now Iroh was relaxing with a very similar tea-tray and set of wooden cards again, after making his own discovery of the Girl in the Plum-Barrel.

The aforesaid little girl trotted up, anxious to get to know her new friend. "Sir Uncle?" she peeped, her form of address for him coming out a mismatch of what she'd heard the crew calling him, and what she'd heard Zuko calling him. As if realizing her mistake, she added, "I--I mean, Sir Iroh?"

The old man chuckled fondly at her innocence. "You can call me 'Sir Uncle' if you want to, little Chiko! I don't mind," his smile moved the bushy edges of his beard further upward.

Chiko grinned again too, plopping down to sit next to him on the deck. "Whatcha doin'?"

"I am playing Solitaire," Iroh let her know; "but since you are here, perhaps I should play something a little less solitary! Would you like to learn 'Match the Elements?'" he offered, smiling even more broadly.

"Aww, but your game would get messed up..." the child noted, her big eyes all squeezed up with concern. Iroh's Solitaire spread looked very complicated, very complicated indeed, with its many different piles of cards--like he must have worked on it for quite a while. Maybe for _ten whole minutes!_ Everyone knew ten minutes was a _very_ long time.

But the pudgy noble just chuckled all the more heartily, letting the current Water card he held drop onto its pile of three. "I was not winning anyway. This was just about the last move I was able to make. Come on, I'll deal you a hand."

Chiko scootched over to sit in front of Iroh's miniature table, watching him shuffle the cards, their wooden surfaces clicking and clacking between his broad, heavy hands. "Now," he began, "we each get five cards, to begin with. Then we try to match this one in the middle of the table here, by either its element or its number. If you don't have a match, you have to draw another card until you do. And the first person to get rid of all their cards at the end wins!"

"Okee! I play eight!" Chiko's gap-toothed grin showed as she flicked one of her pieces forward almost immediately, wriggling like a happy little caterpillar. This game sounded nice and easy!

Indeed, Iroh had considerately chosen Match the Elements because it was a simplistic game, which a six-year-old would not find frustrating. He did have one other detail to add, however. "Oh, very good, little one!" he laughed, noting that her eight of Earth had indeed capped the eight of Air properly. "But there's one more rule. If you get a zero," his old amber eyes twinkled with enthusiasm, "that's an _Avatar card!_ And you can play one of _those_ any time you like, and call any new element you want with it."

Chiko's little forehead screwed up, making very tiny wrinkles of concentration--reflecting the ones of age that Iroh always had on _his_ much balder top. "'Cause... 'cause the Avatar can bend any element, right?" she guessed.

"Exactly," Iroh smiled, absently finding an Earth card of his own (a two) to cap the one Chiko had played. "It is just a metaphor, of course. But it makes a fine little game for us to play with, don't you think?"

Chiko said nothing, but her happy giggle showed she was indeed enjoying playing with this funny old noble. It wasn't long before Iroh introduced her to the _other_ item he had on his tray--a big brass teapot. Would she like a cup? It was getting quite chilly out here, after all, on this cold winter sea. The Fire Nation vessel kept a perpetually-heated deck with its steam system, of course, but it could not compare to the comfort of a nice bit of tea, warming one up from the inside out!

Zuko had to chuckle quietly again as he walked by, seeing his father figure and their new little passenger both downing a pot of pebbleflower (no doubt from that stash Pao had given Iroh earlier). "I thought I told you not to spoil lunch, Uncle," he sighed, hands on hips, as if the elder was a naughty child he himself had to look after.

" _Tea_ does not spoil lunch, Nephew," Iroh admonished, setting his cup back down with immense dignity. "Tea is a _drink,_ not a _food!_ Though they do complement each other nicely," he added, wiping a droplet off an errant whisker with even more dignity.

Zuko just sighed again, half-grinned, and walked off.

Iroh's eyes twinkled at Chiko, even more merrily and mischievously than before. "My nephew is quite a _fussy_ young Fire Lord," he clucked--with that special, playful brand of seriousness inherent between grandparents and grandchildren. "Buuuut I suppose, as we've both had our plums, we can be _good_ little subjects, and wait a _few_ moments longer!"

The orphan's eyes matched the elder's twinkle for twinkle, sharing his conspiratorial tone. She hunkered beneath her shoulders and cards, and gave a whispery little storm of giggles, tickled beyond words at the way this fluffy old noble was treating himself as her equal.

***

When it finally came, lunch was _spectacular,_ especially to a small, hungry stowaway like Chiko. After a night and a day out on Sekitan's streets, with nothing but a dusty loaf of bread and a plum to fill her little tummy, the Fire Lord's spread was like a dream. Though modest compared to feasts at the palace, there were fruit tarts, sizzling noodles, sausages, three kinds of vegetable dumplings... even bowls of a fun, fluffy sort of cream, which stuck to Chiko's nose and Iroh's beard, and made them giggle at each other even more.

The giggles turned into all-out laughs as the little girl, in her innocence, pushed a fruit tart towards the Fire Lord himself. "Lookie, sour kumquat pie, Lord Zuko!" she beamed, open-mouthed--clearly having tried one of the treats herself, and wanting to spread the enjoyment around. "It tickles your tongue all over--eaty up!"

"AHAhaha!!" Iroh roared with mirth at this, promptly poking his nephew in the ribs. "You see, even our little stowaway realizes you need more nourishment, Zuko. Some days I'm worried you'll just up and vanish, the way you barely eat enough for salamander-mouse!"

Zuko snorted good-naturedly at this, looking down to note that his plate was actually not that meager--he had a whole, normal serving of noodles and sausages on it, and a tart of his own, albeit a slightly smaller one than the kumquat pastry Chiko had now passed to him. He would probably eat it, too--to make the little girl happy, if nothing else. Despite his seriousness, Zuko had a soft spot for children.

There clearly was no problem with _Iroh's_ appetite, meanwhile. He had a plate piled high with sausages, dumplings, and pies, as well as a deep bowl of noodles, and the half-eaten bowl of sweet cream-fluff. By the time they were all finished, Zuko's uncle was the very picture of happy repletion, waddling back out on deck with the others. He chose his favorite cushioned chair, folded his hands over his great big belly--with all that delicious food inside!--and leaned back for an equally-delicious nap.

Chiko scampered up to Iroh's side, clearly wanting more time with her new playmate. Knowing his uncle's habits well by now, the young Fire Lord stopped her, taking her tiny hand gently into his.

"Shhhh," he smiled at the little girl as he tugged her back away, affection for both her and the old man written in his features. "Uncle Iroh always gets a bit sleepy after a good meal. Let's let him rest for a while."

Though she had been growing more comfortable around Zuko in front of the others, Chiko stood slightly in awe of him again now. She was alone with the ruler of her whole nation for the first time--the sunlight still glinting off his amazing golden crown. And yet, as he crouched down to her level, on this quiet corner of the deck, suddenly he seemed very much like a child himself--just wanting to play.

"Hey. Do you like fireflies, Chiko?" Zuko smiled, his golden eyes big and open to her. "You wanna see a trick I learned from the Avatar?"

Chiko's snaggletoothed grin showed again. "YEAH!" she gasped excitedly. _A real magic trick from the actual Avatar, and performed by the Fire Lord himself! This was better than ANY circus act or traveling show she'd ever seen in Sekitan!_

Zuko spread his palms and lit a flame in one of them, then tossed it to the other, making it appear as though a tiny firefly was hopping between his hands. Soon he added more, until there was a whole "flock" of little sparks, dancing back and forth amidst his fingers.

Chiko watched, enrapt, almost tempted to try to catch one of the "fireflies" in her own hand. The young Fire Lord would not allow this, however, the sparks rapidly disappearing as he moved to clamp his palm over her own. "Don't burn yourself! Remember, these 'fireflies' are really made of _fire!_ "

"Oh," the little girl hung her head slightly, shamefaced.

Zuko bent down even further to her, caringly, his small but reassuring smile back. "It's okay, Chiko, I just didn't want you to get hurt. --Are you a bender?" his good eyebrow cocked up in curiosity, realizing that none of them had actually ascertained this yet about their passenger. She was obviously Fire in nationality, but whether she had the gift of actually manipulating their native element remained to be seen.

Chiko still hung her head slightly, rubbing the oversized sleeve of her new, hastily-stitched smock. "No... I tried makin' the little embers in our stove move around, when I was three or four, but it never worked. --I think Daddy was a bender," she added, suddenly, "but Mommy wasn't... and, and I'm not."

"Aww, that's okay," Zuko's husky voice was as caring as ever. "I was just gonna teach you how to balance one of the sparks yourself if you were, that's all. --You wanna see 'em again?" he wondered, hoping that the trick had not upset a little girl incapable of "playing with fire" herself.

He needn't have worried--Chiko found her smile again too. "Yeah! You said you really learned this from the Avatar?"

"I sure did," Zuko nodded, starting the peppery dance of flames between his hands again. His usual half-smile twitched up one corner as he thought of his Airbender friend. "Avatar Aang is a little younger than me, and he's a bit of a prankster. I think he adapted these fireflies from a trick he'd do with air, making any leaves or spoons or marbles he'd catch dance around."

"And... and then _you_ taught him to do it with fire," Chiko wrinkled her little nose up in concentration, trying to make sense of this. She had vaguely heard the grownups talking (some with approval, some with disapproval) about how their new Fire Lord had helped the Avatar master their native element, during his quest earlier that year, after all.

"Well, I taught Aang how to _handle_ fire," Zuko clarified, "but then he made up this trick himself, and taught it to _me_."

This revelation itself was so shocking, Chiko took the informal naming of the Avatar in stride. "...Teachers can learn from their students?!" she asked, tilting her head over like a quizzical hare-puppy. "I--I always thought the Fire Lord knew _all_ the tricks already, 'cause he's--well, you're--the most powerful bender!"

Zuko extinguished the hopping flames again, straightening up with concern. "Now whatever gave you _that_ idea?! I'm not the most powerful Firebender around," he shook his head, explaining to the child. "And I certainly don't know _all_ the different moves yet, whether they're for fighting or for play. Uncle Iroh probably still knows more of them than I do--he invented a couple on his own, in fact."

Chiko appeared to be thinking very hard now, staring at the ship's deck-floor with a frown. "But in all the plays they'd have in the square, and puppet-shows they'd have in the market... the Fire Lord _always_ won... and he _always_ knew better tricks than the other characters!"

Zuko winced--both at the memory of his abusive parent, and at the fact that Ozai's propaganda had apparently touched even this innocent child. "Eh... my father probably wanted it to seem that way. And his publicity committees certainly did. But real life's not necessarily like that at all, Chiko," his golden eyes held complete sincerity, as the little amber ones came up to meet them again.

"Granted, my father was... very powerful..." the new Fire Lord continued, privately thanking Heaven that Aang _had_ been able to defeat Ozai. "But his Firebending power didn't come from his title. He just happened to be born with a lot of it, and knew how to hone it." Now thinking of happier things, Zuko smiled encouragingly at the non-bender child. " _Some_ Fire Lords weren't even benders at all, you know!"

Chiko rubbed her button-nose absently, beginning to grin back up at this other new friend she'd apparently made. " _Really??_ " She almost seemed to swell with pride herself, at this revelation.

"Really!" Zuko nodded encouragingly. "All that's required is that the person has to be born in the Fire Nation, and have royal blood. Fire Lord Kanji, who came a century before Sozin--he was a non-bender, just like you! And Fire Lady Heena, the only female ruler we've had so far--she was too, if I'm remembering my history lessons correctly."

This last sentence was, inadvertently, another shocking revelation to the six-year-old. "Fire Lords have to have school lessons too??!"

Zuko gave one of his rare all-out laughs. "Of _course_ they do! Well, I turned eighteen just this winter, so I don't have to anymore. But I did when I was a prince." _Before I was banished,_ he added privately. "And I'm still learning new things every day." His golden eyes crinkled friendlily. "Even from people like you, Chiko!"

"Me?" The little girl had apparently never even considered this. "What can you learn from me?"

Zuko ruffled her brunette topknot affectionately. "How to have fun." He walked off to join some of his officers then, but he was smiling.

Chiko smiled slowly, too, as she watched him stride gracefully away.

***

After Iroh woke back up, Chiko wanted to play with him again, of course. It was getting colder that afternoon, and the winds were getting stronger against the side of the ship, so most of the crew retired indoors. Iroh took his new little friend to one of the rooms in the ship's tower, a meeting area that had several seating-cushions and a cozy firepit.

Lighting the coals with his warm hands (and getting another pot of tea ready, of course), the Dragon of the West began telling a story to amuse the tiny girl. It was a cute fairy tale about a koala-lamb getting lost, and some other animals and friendly spirits helping it find its way back home to its flock. Iroh's own mother, Queen Ilah, had often told the same story to him, when he was as small as Chiko.

...Dear Ilah. Such a frail, gentle creature--so unlike her cruel husband Azulon, whom she had never found the strength to contradict. Short and plump and rosy-cheeked, like her eldest son, who bore the masculine version of her name. She had died when Iroh was twenty, and Ozai was mere months old. The elder prince and his father had had to find a wet-nurse.

Though Iroh hoped Ilah could not see what had become of Ozai, perhaps she could smile to see what had become of Iroh. Soft, gray, and docile as a koala-sheep himself now, curled around a fire, enjoying telling stories to an innocent child.

Chiko almost felt dozy herself, after listening to Iroh for a while. The old Firebender's voice was not exactly a _pretty_ one--but as raspy and guttural as it was, it was so _warm,_ so soothingly slow, it reminded her of a happy old cat purring in the sun.

"I am sorry we don't have more toys onboard for you, Chiko, except for my card deck," Iroh admitted after a while, taking a swig of his tea to clear his throat after the story was over. "But we were not expecting to have a child amongst our crew!"

"Aww, it's okay," Chiko giggled, drawing her own teacup closer to her chest, as if it was her little space-heater. She smiled broader. "I like bein' here with you, Sir Uncle."

Iroh's own humble smile positively glowed. Nothing could have tickled him more.

"I can make toys outta lotsa things, though," Chiko added, rather proud of her skills in this area. "Can I have a handkerchief?"

"Of course you can, little one," Iroh chuckled, handing her a dusty-pink one from out of his kimono-sleeve. "I am afraid it's a little tea-stained, but you may have it if you want."

"You mean I can really _really_ have it? I can _keep_ it?!" the little girl peeped timidly, as if barely daring to hope it was true--a fine silk kerchief from a real noble! She had just meant an inexpensive cloth one from the crew stores, when she had asked.

"Of _course_ you can!" Iroh repeated, his chuckle shaking his paunch a bit, now. "I have several more just like it, do not worry. What are you planning to make with it?"

"A doll," Chiko smiled purposefully, spreading the big rosy square out on her cushion.

"Oh! Well then, perhaps I should have given you a newer kerchief instead," Iroh leaned forward with concern, ready to get up and find his box of extras. "As I mentioned, that one has been through many a teatime...."

"No, it just means she's made with love!" Chiko observed happily, as she crumpled up an errant wad of paper and stuck it in the middle, to begin forming the head. "Whenever you wiped your mouth before, it means that you kissed her!"

This was so unexpectedly cute that all Iroh could do was plop back on his seat, uncomplaining. He watched as the child continued to work. "...Mommy taught me," she whispered, almost reverently.

A fold and a knot in the middle to secure the head, then a couple more knots at the gathered corners, to form the arms. The rest of the handkerchief trailed down as before, giving the appearance of a dress. "There! All done."

Iroh's eyes crinkled warmly at the child's craftsmanship. "What are you going to name her?"

Chiko hugged the doll to her, like she had done with the teacup earlier. She stared down at its little round head for a moment. "...Rei," she decided, solemnly.

Then she stumbled forward and hugged the old Firebender just as fully, smiling much more broadly again.

"Oh-huh!" Iroh chuckled softly with delight. He bent down and gave the little girl a cuddly squeeze in return, whispering, "Thank you, sweetie."

It was only after he let go that Iroh realized, in naming her doll, Chiko had been thanking him, too. "Rei" meant "gratitude."

***

That night, Chiko was given an extra bunk with the crewladies. She fell asleep hugging Rei under the covers, dreaming of Mommy and of koala-sheep, and thinking about her kind new friends.


End file.
